PIW - Botanical Beach Pt.1

The Shorts and Gaiters Inaugural Adventure took place on June 5th and 6th of 2011. Karsten Klawitter and I have been on many wild and wonderous photoadventures and decided to take two days to explore the heck out of several sites around Southern Vancouver Island.

1 Places I've Wandered - Gonzalez Hill Sunrise
2 Places I've Wandered - Not Sooke Potholes
3 In Transit - From Sooke River to Botanical Beach

Places I've Wandered - Botanical Beach June 2011 Pt.1


Welcome to Botanical Beach! Sure.. we've been here before. Taking a Botanical Beach newbie along we've made annual trips out there for the past 3 years. Therefore when it came time to plan our Shorts and Gaiters Inaugural Adventure around Southern Vancouver Island we knew we had to make out here. And we arrived at low tide!

Pro-tip: Arrive at low tide so you can walk the beach and explore the tidal pools and all the park has to offer.


This park offers all sorts of amazing plants, animals, and geology


and if you have someone like the Island Alpinist around he'll want to scurry about the place (and sit on stoneheads like a gargoyle of stone heads)





The shoreline is frequently hammered by storms and waves that come in off of the Pacific. It makes for a wide array of erosive work on the varied underlying strata of stone. It also carves nifty caves.



High tide hides much worth seeing


Bull kelp rests motionless beneath the sky's reflection reflected upon by the Island Alpinist


He moves on, leaving behind the sea urchins at work in their hollowed out enclaves



Bull kelp swishes about just below the surface. Growing so plentiful and feeding the urchins who in turn used to feed sea otters. A balance existed once before the sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction and the urchins then consumed unabated the great kelp forests that once ran the length of the island




Sometimes my heart is tinged with sorrow. But I also know that all things change and move on. And that there will always be more as we grow and go forwards.


We're not finished at this beach, not by a long shot ;)
See you guys next time! :D

Thanks for your comments and support!
The Maplemusketeer

Places I've Wandered - Botanical Beach Redux

This trip is an annual expedition that my friend Karsten and I go on. A pilgrimage of sorts to the end of the world. The real west coast. To drive west from Victoria and into the primeval land of giant trees and mossy undergrowth. To go where there is nothing but sea betwixt us and Japan.

Plus we also always try to bring someone who's never been there before!

Welcome to Botanical Beach. A UNESCO protected site.

At the front line of where the island meets the sea you get to discover and climb around on all sorts of geologic evidence of upheaval and history

The forest takes on many faces as well as the trees grow and twist about based upon the influence of location

Tall trees and cliffs stand alongside shelves of stone riddled with tidal pools only accessible during lower tides

The tidal pools teem with all sorts of marine life from grasses and fish to multi-spine covered sea urchins. (The purple spikey things ;) )

Seagulls and sealions seen on the shoreline

and even a black bear decided to amble by and see what was on the menu. Remember the purple spikey sea urchins in the tidal pool?

Well black bears like to eat'em ;)

All in all it was a fantastic and memorable trip to one of my favourite places I've had the delight to get to discover and I'm very much looking forward to what this weekend's adventure on Vancouver Island will reveal!

Till next time,
explore see and share :D
The Maplemusketeer